Late last night, after an exhibition game against the Atlanta Thrashers, the Blue Jackets
boarded a plane with NHL officials and media bound for Stockholm. Another plane will depart this
week with team officials, some club partners and more than 100 fans who will celebrate the Blue
Jackets' 10th season by trekking a third of the way across the globe.

Both groups of passengers will spend the week in Scandinavia, returning with memories to last a
lifetime and, perhaps, a win or two over the San Jose Sharks to open the season Friday and
Saturday. But the real benefit will go beyond the fortunate few who get to watch the Blue Jackets
play in the shadows of 15th-century Swedish architecture.

The team and the city of Columbus stand to benefit from a boost of international recognition
that local officials say could be unmatched.

"When we sign on for the radio broadcast and say, 'Live from Stockholm,' or when people pick up
the newspaper and see a Stockholm (dateline), that's when it'll hit people," Blue Jackets vice
president of business operations Larry Hoepfner said. "It's Columbus and it's the Blue Jackets,
playing on a world stage in front of an international audience.

"It's exciting. I think when the puck drops, people will realize the magnitude of this
opportunity."

The NHL has been playing games outside of the United States and Canada since the 1930s, but this
marks the fourth straight season that select clubs have opened in Europe. In addition to Columbus
and San Jose, Carolina and Minnesota will play two games in Helsinki, and Boston and Phoenix will
play two in Prague. All told, there will be 13 games - exhibition and regular season - played in
Europe this season, the most ever.

The Blue Jackets, whose financial woes have been well-chronicled, do not stand to profit from
this trip. Hoepfner said it's a break-even proposition.

But, he notes, it's a huge score for the city of Columbus. Ohio State football, the sports
behemoth in central Ohio, reaches an almost entirely U.S. audience. The Crew has traveled to
Central America and Europe but plays in a league considered a level below the European soccer
leagues.

"I'm not sure that anything in recent memory would be on this level," said Linda Logan,
executive director of the Greater Columbus Sports Commission. "This will elevate the reputation of
Columbus to Scandinavia, certainly, but also most of Europe. It's already been helped, frankly, by
some of the Blue Jackets players who are from that part of the world, and this furthers it.

"It's hard to quantify it, really, but anytime you can do something like this, it helps our
image. It puts us on the map with people on the other side of the world."

The NHL has seen a swell of business in Europe, both in terms of merchandise sales and Internet
traffic. Roughly 20 percent of visitors to NHL.com, the league says, are from Europe. That only
makes sense, as 26 percent of the NHL's players - more than 225 players - are from outside North
America.

"Our brand is extremely strong here," said Ken Yaffe, vice president of NHL International.
"We've had more than half of the league's 30 teams play in Europe, and our plan is to bring
everybody."

Many see the NHL's increasing traffic to Europe as the league's first step toward expanding
there, a revolutionary step for a major North American league.

"We're always looking at stuff," Yaffe said. "Development in Europe is curious to us. Everybody
wants to know about the prospect of a division that plays in Europe. Of all the things we kick
around, it's not at the top of that list. It's not a priority right now."

The Blue Jackets will arrive in Stockholm about noon today (6 a.m. Columbus time), then head
straight to the rink for practice.

Swedes Sammy Pahlsson, Kristian Huselius and Anton Stralman have been put in charge of picking
out restaurants for team dinners and choosing must-see sights.

"It's going to be a blast," Stralman said. "We have lots of fun stuff planned."

It is in these moments - away from the games and practices - that general manager Scott Howson
sees the potential for real benefit.

"It will give a lot of our players something new to experience, and it will give all of us the
advantage of being together for an extended amount of time," Howson said. "It's a great time of
year to do it, too, right at the beginning of the season, building a bond."